Review(Updated) | MiniX Neo G4 The Pocket Pc Worth For Your Bucks!

DroidXDA
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Friday, 2 November 2012

If you are looking for a high performance pocket pc or a pendrive sized pcThere's selection from MK802/808,UG802 & Other'sThis time i am going to review this yet reasonable and this underdog wants some attentionIt's a full review based on all the experience i am using it couple with my experience on pass devicesuch as MK802II i owned.It's no more for showing off and no go product by MiniX.It's now available on the Market I present you the MiniX Neo G4 powered by the latest RockChip RK3066 with up-to-date specsIt's targeted on the sub-$90 market for high level performance yet cheap and reliable

First Look

It shipped to me with rather nice packaging not like the MK802 with some plastic box
This looks premium as well.The underneath of the box unveil all the info you need to know about the NEO G4

When you open the cover of the box you will see a manual book,the Neo G4 & an Ir Remote

Digging deeper into the box you will find 5V Power Adapter,Micro usb cable & a hdmi male-to-male adapter included.

Design

On the right side of Neo G4 It has a power port and you can connect it to a pc for data/storage transferas well as using as an On-The-Go port with a micro sd slot support up to 32b and air vent next to it.

On
a far end of the stick you will have a USB 2.0 port which is lovely for
plugging in your wireless keyboard & other usb devices (Example :
Pendrives/External Hard disk)

While
on another end it also has a HDMI female port which is a brilliant idea
because not every monitor/tv/display has sufficient play to fit a
pocket pc even size like this.
So this enable you to plugin a Hdmi cable instead to connect to your display. So it's hassle free design.Nice job MiniX

This how the Neo G4 Looks Like When it's connected to an adaptor and ready for the run!

Performance Test

For this test i am going to use an industry/market standard benchmark tool (Antutu)

We are rivaling it against the MK802II which's once the best selling pocket pc powered by AllwinnerA10.

Provide
superb performance overall usability and smoothness that is shown below
with the benchmark while running will almost 20 background apps still
scoring a massive 5966 with 1080p Resolution versus the the MK802II
which only score 2936 without any background apps.

Real World Usability & Capability

Benchmark only show half of a story of a device.It doesn't mean that it will perform well in really life condition.

First of all we are looking on the Google Play access,one
of major problem of Rockhip & Allwinner product.Most of them has
limited access therefore require 3rd party script installation.With
the Neo G4,it has direct full access.I have also tried to buy games
(Asphalt 7 Heat) without any problem. It mean a perfect score for the
Neo G4

Next it's the User Interface (UI)We know that there's lots of replaceable home screen (It's android)Neo
G4 also come back up with own MiniX HomeScreen like XBMC style but we
are not looking on it because we are using the stock launcher for this
part of review

Neo
G4 come with lot's of preloaded apps which sufficient for all your
needs & remember there's still Google Play.All apps fit the screen
perfectly and runs well without any problem or force close

On
the other side we have the eHomeMediaCenter.It mean this device also
support DLNA from any phones/tablet with DLNA support like the Sony
Xperia's

I would like to say that the custom setting select also straight forward & clear for the user.This mean the point of simplifying user experience are made possible.There's also another setting for the user to select on.The AOSP type settings

Within this setting you can also adjust the screen scale & resolution which suit your connected screen instead

This option also enable you to fit your screen perfectly without overlapping Therefore it's going to score another point for the Neo G4

Android 4.1 Updates

According to MiniX the update for the Neo G4 Jellybean update is on NovemberUpgrade
also should provide noticable performance different and more patch for
stability which is verified by RockChip.This ensure the device is up to
date with it capabilities.

Device Temperature

After
running it for almost 6 hour's non-stop the device remain around 40
celcius (max) on gaming & videos streaming with some social
network.This device dissipated it's heat well and remain cool.This mean
less power lost in form of heat and maximized it performance without
using more power.This is yet not possible on the MK802II.The temperature
climb to almost 68 celcius after 4 hour usages.Therefore this device
perform well and remain cool.Another point for the Neo G4.

Conclusion

It come with nice & premium feel of packaging.First boot up within 15 sec and some little setup & without any hassle.

Neo G4 also comes with latest connectivity with one of market best Wifi Connectivity without any disconnection and support up to 150mbps

.The ports location is well designed around the device for easy access.Performance on the Neo G4 is not show & no go.It's rockchip RK3066 backed by 1gb ram & latest ICS 4.0.4 perform like no other device out there.

Promised Update to 4.1 Jellybean provide Smooth and run's apps without any lag or slowdown.

As i mentioned i bought the Asphalt 7 Heat & i turn into a shock when first run on it.It doesn't even lag/slow down on Full HD mode(probably Quad Core Mali 400 MP) that help it optimize all the performance.

Without forgetting that this is designed for the HDTV/LCD usage,it has it own simplified user interface & with the IR Remote work as is should.

8gb Nand with expandable storage also keep this device no way close from out of storage.

With Full Google Play Support mean that there's no apps that you can't get to it.

It also support airplay (Will be update that on full airplay on miniX) Updated:Found Out the Amazing speed & connection with hooked up to my belkin N300 router.It hit astonishing 150mbps and after hour's of usage never disconnected like the MK802II

Will all this massive powerhouse inside that should run hot but it remain cool and just fine with also PMU (Power Management Unit)which enable the device run's even with my computer USB port and mean it won't burn the whole system down with uncontrolled power input.

So we have seen how it perform and all the features that the Neo G4 offer's.

For the sub $90 price point this
device rather amazing within it performance and usability that not just
out perform its rivals but MiniX also design a beast that never left the factory without quality check.

Fair though it's value for money and worth every bang of the bucks you pay for the Neo G4